Twenty Years Later
by Dusted82
Summary: Buffy Summers comes out of isolation twenty years after the hellmouth in Sunnydale is destroyed, just in time to help her old friends and family discover an evil plot! R&R PLEASE!
1. Burial Grounds

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy (With the Exception of a few that I have created.)  
  
Author's note: This is the story that takes place twenty years after Sunnydale was destroyed. No alternate reality, basically stays true to what happened in "Chosen".  
  
London, England  
  
She walks through the GraveYard, her gray hair flowing in the harsh winds of this foreign atmosphere. Sure she has traveled all around the world over the last twenty years, but this place she has tried to stay away from due to it reminding her of her true calling. That's why she left America years back, she chose a normal life and she paid for it. Only in the last couple of months has she realized that she wasn't living a normal life, she was living a life of seclusion. She hasn't had very many friends over the past fifteen years, she didn't chose not to be a slayer, she chose to be dead again. But it just seemed like even thought she wasn't the only slayer anymore that she was called as long as she stayed with her friends. She would keep trying to leave, but they just tried pulling her in. First it was just to restart the Watchers council, than it was to train more slayers, than she was battling vampires again. No matter which way she tried, she was still THE SLAYER.  
  
Buffy Summers slowly walks around the graveyard, checking the tombstones for a certain name, a name the means a lot to her. This is not something new to her, in fact, she has had to do this many times over the course of the last few years. So many names come to mind, Jesse, Jenny, Kendra, her mom, herself, Tara, Jonothan, Anya, Rona, Riley and her biological father. She has outlived them all, even though she was not supposed to, her destiny was to actually die at an early age. But oddly enough, she outlived those she was sworn to protect and it eats her up inside. That's another issue she has had to deal with over the last few days, she is now the oldest slayer ever. She guesses she is now in the watcher's councils record books for that, if they have records. But now she is coming the realization that she may never die due to a question that nobody ever asked. What happens if a slayer is not slain in battle? The answer is simple, they don't, she can feel it in her bones. While most are supposed to get weaker with age, she actually gets stronger. Buffy Summers is never going to die.  
  
While thinking this through, she stops dead in tracks, she finds the headstone she's looking for. But it's not really a head stone, it's more like a shrine. As she walks closer, she thinks that if anybody deserved a shrine it was this man. She begins reading the words and bursts into tears once she is done reading the passage written on the shrine. She hasn't cried like this in this years, ever since her mom died actually, but who can blame her this is the man she only truly loved. Not in the way most people think, she never had any sexual feelings for this man. Although, she did have a father, that man wasn't there for her the way that her watcher was, he didn't teach her the way her watcher did. She goes down on her knees as she mourns her real father. Head bowed down the tears pour onto the very soggy grass as the words on the shrine ring through her head.  
  
RUPERT GILES 1951-2023 HE WATCHED OVER ALL OF MANKIND A FATHER TO US ALL THE MAN WHO MADE HEROES  
  
She knows that each saying written by each member of her family, even though she knows that her family has grown since she has left, these three are the core. Her two sisters and her brother, and Giles was like a father to them. In the beginning, he would point and tell them what to do and she would lead them through the darkness. Each time, she thought she would lose one of them, but each time family over came all odds. But apparently, those odds can't last forever, at least not for her mentor. She thinks back to the last time she saw him, about fifteen years ago, that day she told him and her friends to stay out of her life, and they did. She hasn't seen them since, not only did she miss his funeral a few days ago, she missed her sisters wedding, the other sister's promotion as a goddess and her brother's in the Watcher's Council. This remorse grows deeper and deeper the more she thinks about Giles. But before she can go any deeper into the dark place she realizes that there is someone behind her.  
  
"You know" The older man that stands behind her begins. "In his last words, he mentions you."  
  
She turns around to see a face she misses dearly, although much older and bald, it's still the same old face. Xander Harris still has that charming cute smile he had when they were teens, and although he still wears a patch over one his eye, the one left shines brighter than ever. She stands up still sobbing and the two look each other, they have no clue what to say. Instead of saying anything right off the bat she rushes to his arms and continues to cry. He pats her head, not knowing what else to do, both are filled with happiness that they are together again, but remorse due to the death of their father. They stay that way for a minute or two, then release and they are back to staring each other in the face once more.  
  
"So," Buffy begins as she wipes the tears from her eyes, then she flashes that old, but still beautiful smile. "What am I supposed to say, Xander? I've been away so long."  
  
"I don't really think now is the time to bring back past emotional issues, Buff. You left we cried, then moved on. Right now, I'm just happy to see you again, wish it was under better circumstances. But still good to have you back."  
  
"Sorry I missed the funeral, I only got word of his death a few days back." With saying that, she bursts back into tears. Xander reaches over and puts his hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry that I have missed the last fifteen years, I'm sorry that I missed out on everything." She didn't think that her emotions would come out so quickly. She embraces him once more as he strokes her hair.  
  
" You know if circumstances weren't so grim, I could probably think of many sarcastic things to say. But before he died, he told me not to hate you. That if you ever came back, to let you back into not only my life but the rest of the family. That's a promise I plan to keep." He let's his embrace go once more as they have another moment of silence.  
  
She twirls her now fading blonde hair as she tries to make small talk, she wants to avoid the real question she has. " So the Watcher's Council is all yours now?"  
  
"Yeah," a brief boyish smirk returns to his face. " He left to me in his will, I'm still in disbelief that he would trust a man who dated a vengeance demon, a praying mantis, an inca mummy girl, and was a love slave to Dracula the watcher's council. I'm just as shocked as when he made me Vi's official watcher after the first hellmouth was destroyed. Now I'm in charge of the whole operation, it's a very different experience. But now that 'You're the one who sees thing' comment that Caleb made all those years back makes a lot more sense nowadays."  
  
"Well," She smiles at how humble Xander has become over the years, he has grown up so much and she missed all of that. " You are the perfect man for the job, you've been watching my back from day one." She pauses again, trying to avoid the question that she has again. "How's Dawn been?"  
  
"Happy, very happy. Ends up that she has the same taste in men that you do."  
  
A curious look appears on her face as he says this. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
" Maybe you'll find out one of these days." He pauses and looks back at her with a very unsure look on his face. "She's been a watcher for the last seven years, poor girl had to learn the risk of this job the hard way."  
  
"What risk would that be?"  
  
"Responsibility, a hard thing I had to learn. Her first slayer died within two weeks, she was very broken over it. Her second one took Faith's path, we had to send Kennedy to take her out. That made her almost suicidal, she really could have used you during those days. But fortunately, her third slayer is still around very obedient and she met a guy she really loves."  
  
"Please tell me it's not Andrew"  
  
Xander chuckles just a little bit as she asks this. "No, like I said, he closely resembles someone you know very well and it's not Andrew or anyone from the Troika for that matter."  
  
Again, she asks a small talk question to avoid the real one on her mind. " How's Willow doing?"  
  
Xander now looks complex at this question. "Godlike, I really don't get to see her much anymore. She came down for his funeral and we caught up on old times but that's as far as it goes."  
  
"What did she become?"  
  
"Remember that old lady that you ran into when you were inquiring about the scythe?"  
  
"Wait, she has become one of those? That must be really boring for her."  
  
"It is, but it's what she was called for. She kind of had to or she wouldn't have been doing her full potential."  
  
"I guess your right, but wouldn't she get lonely." Xander gives a remorseful look to her.  
  
"I think after awhile she wanted to be alone, after her first boyfriend left, her first girl friend died, and her second girlfriend realized that the whole lesbian thing was just a phase she was going through. And you were gone, she wanted to be away from people who would hurt her."  
  
"Oh," She looks very upset with this revelation. "What about your love life?"  
  
" Married twice actually."  
  
"Really," a warm smile crosses her face as he says this. "What happened there?"  
  
"My first wife, Sandra, left because she couldn't handle the fact that I was training underage girls to fight evil as a living. She just didn't trust me as much as I trusted her, apparently I shouldn't have. I caught her making out with a sloth demon." He has a bright smile on his face trying to hide the pain.  
  
Buffy looks very upset with this other revelation from Xander. "Who was the second wife?"  
  
"Clem" A very amused and confused look appears on her face, she laughs a little bit. " It was a spell that Andrew cast, imagine trying to carry that over the threshhold, couldn't lift anything ever since."  
  
Both burst into laughter as he goes over this hilarious past event. Once they are done laughing, Buffy decides it's time to get to the real question she has in mind. "Xander, I hate to ask this, but how did his body look in the casket during the funeral?"  
  
Xander's face turns from a huge smile to a frown very quickly. "Buffy there was no body for the funeral."  
  
She becomes terrified at where this is going. " So then he was cremated?"  
  
Xander has a problem getting this last part out because it sounds very sarcastic, but it's the truth. "In a way, yes."  
  
Her fear has been realized once he says this, she knows what happened to Giles. "Oh god no, who sired him? I'll dust them."  
  
Xander begins to explain with a very blank expression on his face. " I don't know, I came right after he was attacked. He said his last words as a human, didn't say what vampire did it to him, just talked about the Scoobs mostly. It was a very sad experience for us to see him turn into a vampire like that. Didn't last long because I dusted him right away."  
  
Tears begin trickling down her eyes once more. "Xander, I'm so sorry, if anyone had to do it, it should have been me."  
  
"No,"She is shocked once Xander goes to his knees and begins to ball into tears. "It shouldn't have been anyone of us. This shouldn't have happened to him, of all of us, he deserved a natural death, not this tragedy. Everyday, he put his life on the line just to teach others the way of battling the forces of darkness. All of that, just to be turned into darkness. It's not fair, Buffy."  
  
Buffy kneels down and begins massaging Xanders back in a comforting fashion. "I know," More tears stream down and onto Xander's shoulder. "What have you done to find out what bastard did this to him? I mean The Watcher's Council must have done something to look into this, right?"  
  
Still crying he looks back up at Buffy. "I've tried, but most of the council's attention has been focused on the L.A situation."  
  
Buffy is once again confused, she hasn't watched the news or read the newspapers, so she has no clue what has been happening around the world. "What happened in Los Angelos?" 


	2. Nobody Walks In LA

L.A, CALIFORNIA  
  
"Taken over by Vampires?" A very old Robin Wood asks as the hot California sun boils down on him.  
  
"Seems like it," Faith responds, although in her early forties, she looks as fit and as beautiful as ever. The same can't be said for her long time companion, who has put on a few pounds since he turned fifty a few years back. Together they walk the streets of L.A, looking at all the abandoned cars and dead bodies, most would be saddened by this sight, but not Faith. She is a fighter who has seen and done it all, including murdering humans and demons alike. She looks back at Wood who seems very unsure. " There certainly aren't any humans left alive around here. That means there has to be a mother load of nests, yo."  
  
As they walk down the streets, weapons in hand, Wood has something he wants to bring up to her but doesn't know how to say it and doesn't know if now is the time for it. But if he has learned anything over the years of knowing her, it is never the time to say something that will discourage. He sucks it in and says it. "What happened to that settling down thing we talked about a few years back?"  
  
She stops in her tracks as does he, she looks very pissed off at this question. " Are you going to bring this up again. We settled, remember?  
  
Wood sighs as she begins to argue. " Faith, that was for two weeks and I don't call hiding out from the government as a happy suburban couple in Ohio counts."  
  
"Robin, you knew what you were getting into when we first started, be happy that you lasted this long."  
  
"You know that I love you and I appreciate your calling, but frankly I'm not a slayer or a vampire or demon and I'm getting too old for this."  
  
She looks straight at him as she says this, it hurts him everytime she says these words, but he has taken such a liking to her. "Than leave, your acting just as weird as you did when I turned down that stupid ring of yours. Plus, you know that this is a very personal mission I'm on."  
  
"I know but, I just can't..."  
  
"Wait, I found what I'm looking for." She interrupts him as he is about to say something very important at least to him. He tries following her as she runs towards a very abandoned butcher shop. His heart can't take it as he catches up to her. She stops at the door and pulls out two stakes, one for each hand. She signals for Wood to grab something, he pulls out a bottle of holy water as she sighs. "When did you lose the passion for this job? Holy water isn't going to get the job done." He just shrugs at her, he still can't understand how she isn't feeling the ravages of age, the funny thing is that she doesn't understand why he is. "Whatever."  
  
She begins counting down to him with her fingers, he cringes at what's going to happen once she has only one finger left. She busts down the door with her left boot, then she goes running into the building. He follows right behind her and the first thing he see's is about a dozen vampires being set a blaze. Faith lunges towards the vampires towards the back and begins staking one after the other. He slowly passes by the bodies that are disappearing in the flames. One vampire approaches him and he slams the body of holy water on his face. Once he catches up to Faith, she has a vamp on the ground and holding a stake to his heart. She begins screaming into his face, there's information she needs to know, the vampire actually looks terrified. "Who did it? WHO KILLED ANGEL?"  
  
"I don't know what your talking about." The vampire squeals as Faith has his arms pinned to the ground.  
  
"Don't lie to me," Wood hasn't seen her this violent in years, even in bed. " Angel was this city's champion against you guys, there's no way you wouldn't know who he is."  
  
"Faith" Wood interrupts her as she grills the vamp. "Maybe he doesn't know anything."  
  
"Stay out of this Wood, stick to your holy water and watch my back." She doesn't even look back towards him.  
  
He turns to look at the entrance, but then realizes that that is not the place to be looking. He spots a huge gaping hole in the floor in the butcher shop. Almost as soon as he spots, a horde of dark figures arise from it. "FAITH!!!! IT'S A TRAP!!!"  
  
She throws the vamp down and lunges at the horde approaching towards her. She begins staking them one by one, but she is still overwhelmed. He takes notice that they are ignoring him and going straight towards her. As the vamps huddle ontop her, he pulls a stake out of his jacket and leaps towards the barrage of bloodsuckers that are engulfing his sometime girlfriend. He manages to stake about three, but still, they keep coming at them. He can hear that she is still alive, every once in awhile dust would get in his eyes, so she's okay for now. Him on the other hand, he's not doing too well, he's already starting to ache during this battle. And then once he leaps at another vampire and stakes, that's when it happens. It feels like his inside have just exploded.  
  
Robin grabs at his heart as the pain grows in that area, he is quickly pushed out of the dog pile on Faith. He falls to the corner and realizes that he is taking his final gasps of air. He wonders if it was worth it, if fighting by her side was worth all this chaos. Does she really care if he lives or dies, apparently not, because here he is, dieing, and all she can think about is avenging the death of some vampire with a soul. As he passes onto the otherside, the vampires pick up Faith, still alive and struggling. She gives him one last worried remorseful glance, and for him, to know that she at least cared a little bit, made it all worth it.  
  
London, England  
  
From the minute she hops into Xander's beautiful new car, she realizes how quickly it has become like old times between the two of them. Maybe not exactly like old times, Willow not being there sort of spoils the moment, but it's close enough for her. Then a really sad thought hits her, he too will die, just like everyone else, she will out live him. Buffy wonders why she even agreed to go with him, part of her thinks that she should have just said good luck and just leave Xander and the other slayers to the big work, it's not her job anymore. But there's just some things she cannot let go, like loyalty. Her father figure was murdered and sired, she can't just leave during that type situation. As much as she wishes she can just turn the other cheek and walk the other way, like many others she has seen before, it's in her nature to stay and fight. And to be honest, it's very comforting that that side of her still exists deep down inside.  
  
But returning is going to be much harder than she wants it to be right now, only one person has forgiven her. Even though Xander was very eager to forgive, she knows that Dawn will not, it's not in her character. She doesn't know what her sister's reaction will be once she knows that she has returned, will she be happy or just angry. It broke her heart those first couple of years not having Dawn around, but she's spent so many years watching over everyone else. So once Dawn was all grown up, she packed her bags and left, she tries to forget that day. Tears and yelling went on between the two of them, but once Buffy put her foot down, she was greeted in a slap in the face by Dawn. Now that was painful, at the time she didn't understand why everyone had to throw a big fit when she left. But now she understands more than ever, even though there were other slayers out there, she was still there guardian. They couldn't just simply replace her with Faith or Kennedy or Vi, they tried that once and they regretted it. But those issues will have to wait, she needs to find out what happened in L.A.  
  
"At first it just looked like another riot, it was L.A, we didn't think much of it." Xander begins to explain the current world situation. "Then it became more and more obvious what was going on, like the fact that the intial fighting and death was only going on at night. Once LAPD was taken out completely, they sent in the army, they too were immobilized. Then guess who was sent there next?"  
  
"The Intiative?"  
  
"Bingo," He gives her a big thumbs up and then goes back to explaining. " Yeah, and guess what? That idea bombed bigger than the first time the Government had the Intiative on the scene. After about a month, the government gave up on trying to understand and control the vampires, so they barricaded the city off from anyone else. About a week before Giles died, he sent Kennedy and a few scouts there to see exactly what was behind it. Most of the slayers and watchers were taken out, Kennedy was the only one who was able to escape."  
  
"Wow," Buffy is very taken aback by all this shocking information, she thought everything would be taken care of with her gone, but perhaps she was wrong. " This is bad, really, really bad."  
  
"Your telling me, we have a city taken hostage by vampires and the mysterious death of the man who became my mentor." He gives her a look that gives her a lot of guilt. "Buffy, we really need you with us for this."  
  
"I know Xander.."  
  
"Please, I go by Alax now, some of us have grown up." She is surprised at how stern he is becoming now that he knows she has no choice to fight. " Buffy, I know this is hard for you, but you have to understand, it's ten times harder for those of us who actually stayed to fight the good fight. And to be honest, I hate having to ask you for anything, I wish I could do this on my own. I'm not leadership guy, that shouldn't be my job."  
  
"Yes it should Xander, I mean Alax. Do I have to call you that, it doesn't feel right?"  
  
"A lot of things don't feel right nowadays, Buff. I shouldn't have to be in this position to make the decisions."  
  
Now it's Buffy's turn to be stern. " Yes you should, because you damn well deserve this role, wish it was under different circumstances." She looks at Xander, who is now more than a bit worried about the current situations. "I have never met someone who was more loyal to the cause than you. Giles made the right decision in giving the council over to you. Don't waste it due to your lack of confidence. I will go with you and fight this one time, but don't be going to me to make some rash decisions. Xander, Alax, whatever you want to be called nowadays, this is your time to lead."  
  
Xander gives a half smile to her again. "Well, you have never been shy with the speeches have you?"  
  
"Well, you know me, I'm speech girl."  
  
"Your wrong." He now gives her a full smile, she is surprised at how handsome he still is.  
  
"Wrong about what?"  
  
"Your not a girl anymore. Sad to say, but all of us are all grown up now."  
  
"Scary isn't it?" She asks Xander sort of jokingly.  
  
"Completely terrifying." He gives her another bright smile as they finally make it into a parking lot. She has never actually been to The Watchers Council in either the Traverse Regime or when Giles was in control, so this is actually kind of a treat. "Well, were here."  
  
"Do I have to go?" She is sort of sarcastic while saying this.  
  
"Hey if I have to lead, you have to go. Congratulations, your days of isolation are now officially over with." He opens the car door and then gets out, she soon follows maybe a little bit eager. 


	3. Buffy Won't Choose You

Twenty Years Later Part 3: Buffy Won't Choose You  
  
Those words have been ringing through her ears for the last twenty years of her life, it was a warning that her mom gave her from the afterlife. At first she didn't know if that was prophecy that would come true, everyone just assumed that it was The First playing with her mind, and it very well could've been. But still five years later, that prophecy came true. Her sister, the one who she would protect her, abandoned her for a life of self solitude. Of course the warning wasn't wasn't as life or death as she though it would be at the time, but still it happened. She had to make all the tough decisions on her own from then on, even Giles couldn't save her from leading two slayers to death and darkness. Maybe if her sister Buffy would've been around, she probably could've avoided those disasters. Then Dawn Summers she realized that she has zoned out again into her own thoughts.  
  
"So how long is this going to take?" Her charge, Reese, asks very impatiently in the lobby of The Watcher's council.  
  
"I don't know Reese, from what Alax told me, this is a meeting that involves both slayers and watchers, you can't try to get out of it this time." Dawn has been pretty grim these couple of days just due to the loss of Rupert. She knows that Reese is trying her hardest to understand that this is a very hard loss for her, but she is still a teenaged girl and doesn't really look farther beyond that. "Don't worry, this trip will be over soon"  
  
"Let's hope, I can't wait to get back to New York, to kick some vampire ass. Plus, the english stench is already getting to me."  
  
"Don't be rude, they payed for the hotel and the food."  
  
"But still they didn't pay for my shopping spree, there is something completely wrong with that" Dawn gives her smile, something she hasn't done for the last couple of days. Reese than changes the subject on her, asking her something that she wouldn't expect from her young slayer. "So what was Mr. Giles really like, I mean I actually never met him. But from the funeral he apparently was a great man, or at least the way Alax was talking about him and that weird white haired lady."  
  
Dawn is a little shocked by this question, but she figures that she needs to answer, pass on the legacy. "First of all, that weird white haired ladies name is Willow. Now Giles, he was a great man.."  
  
"I'm getting that, but what was he like?" As usual, Reese is being very impatient.  
  
"Well, firstly, he was very, well, um english. He used big words and was very compassionate and he had a great voice."  
  
Reese gives Dawn an unimpressed look. "That's it? That's all you can say about the guy who brought you up?"  
  
Dawn wishes she could say more, but her mind is off in a dozen other places right now. She is still mourning the loss of her sisters ex watcher, but now she thinks more and more about Buffy. She wonders if Buffy just stopped caring about everything years back, why wasn't she at the funeral. She has left many times before, but she always came back, but now fifteen years later, she can't come back just for a few minutes for something like this? And she didn't even show up for her wedding, that's not the Buffy Summers she remembers. She notices her mind wander off again and she turns back to Reese. "Sometimes, there are people who are so great that it is hard to get their essence into a sentence or paragraph. Plus, I'm not trying to think about him as gone, I had to do a lot of that growing up."  
  
Reese takes a moment to think over what Dawn says and then says the last thing that Dawn wants to hear. " Oh yeah, because your sister sacrificed herself for you, right?" Dawn looks down in more remorse for her lost sister, as it looks like Reese is thinking hard about something. "Wait, if your sister died saving you and the world, how did she lead the potential slayers to defeat The First two years later? Where is she now?"  
  
Dawn looks deeply, giving her an 'I don't want to continue this conversation' look, "I don't know." Reese gets the hint and backs off of her watcher. As they reach the main offices Dawn notices a figure she recognizes very well. Well of course she recognizes him, he was the guy that they kept hostage at their house for a few months, how could she not forget that face and the wormy posture. But of course every time she sees him, she can't help but smile at his nerdy charm. She wonders if this was how Buffy saw Alax or Xander in the High School days that she's heard so much about. Reese on the other hand has met Andrew a few times before, and everytime he opens his mouth around her, she tries not to laugh at his dorkyness. Dawn thinks he looks kind of funny in his suit and tie, just because she remembers when he was hardcore trekkie. As oppose to Xander, he still has his hair, but it has turned into a weird pale blonde color, he also has attempted to grow a goatee to either look younger or to look like the evil alternate dimension version of Captain Kirk, she can't tell which. Over the last couple of years he has become a book keeper of sorts for the Watchers Council, something he is quite good at.  
  
"Mrs. Summers, Reese" He gives them a wild grin while stroking his chin hair, always the fidgety one. "You two have arrived right on time, Alax is just about to get started. May I take your coat?"  
  
Dawn gives Andrew a very warm look, while Reese just rolls her eyes. "Good to see you too Andrew. What exactly is this meeting all about and once again, you're the book keeper not the councils butler"  
  
Andrew goes aback like he had just been insulted, he's just a bit sensitive, but still he answers her question. "Well apparently the meeting is just Mr. Harris taking his spot as head of the Watcher's Council and what he plans to do about L.A."  
  
"Will it be long?" Reese bursts out loud. If it were to one of the more uptight older members of the council, she would have scolded her slayer, but Andrew was probably was wondering the same thing.  
  
"I hope not, Sci fi channel is playing a 'Quantum Leap' marathon."  
  
"What is that?" Reese asks, and to be honest, Dawn has never heard of that show either. But it kind of goes to show that Andrew is still the same old nerd he always has been, maybe a little more mature, but still a fanboy at heart.  
  
Andrew again looks offended. "You never heard of 'Quantum Leap'? Scott Bakula?"  
  
"Who's Scott Bakula?" Reese just asks that last question to get under his skin, although she had no clue who he was anyways.  
  
Andrew looks at Dawn with a very upset look. "What are you teaching this girl? The first thing a good slayer should know is good television."  
  
Dawn shrugs. "Sorry, I grew up watching 'Charmed'."  
  
Now it's Andrew's turn to roll his old eyes. "Witches, Demons, who growing up in our era watched that stuff anyways?" Before he can continue his rant a slim hand goes over his mouth. Dawn begins to glow as VI stands there holding Andrew back with smirk on her face. Dawn really likes VI, of all the slayers that she had to bunk with during The First war, she liked her the most. And although, they have recently learned that slayers age very well when it comes to their looks, at least with the proof of Faith and Kennedy's old age, she is sure the youngest looking one and she is a good thirty eight years old. She doesn't look a day over twenty one, despite her red hair growing down to her back, she looks almost the same.  
  
"Sorry, I like the guy," She begins with a sweet smile and letting go of his mouth. "But when you get him going on millenium sci fi shows, he doesn't seem to be able to shut himself up."  
  
"Ouch, remember you have slayer strength." Andrew says grabbing at his jaw, then strokes his chin hair once more.  
  
"Hey VI" Dawn says giving her a hug. "How is the slaying going?"  
  
"Same as usual, but I think I'm about ready to retire now. I've been doing this since I was what? Fifteen? Time to trade in my stake for a comfy bed. But how are you doing? How's your husband?"  
  
Then her mind goes somewhere, she thinks about her husband, someone who has been worrying her for a couple of months now. He seemed in bad shape when they left New York, been having very strange nightmares. Whenever she would ask him if she could do anything, he would just tell her to leave him alone. For the first time ever in their relationship, he is rejecting her love. He has become very brooding as of late actually, kind of reminds her of a guy that her sister used to date. But she decides to lie to VI about her husband. "Oh, Connors doing very good."  
  
He wakes up in a deep sweat for the third time this week, the same dream again. Makes it not having Dawn around or maybe it's that he has being feeling useless in the world as of late. But his dreams are so weird, they have nothing to do with any of that. But it also seems like they have nothing do with him either, it's about some other guy, well a vampire really. He remembers seeing this man/vampire fighting demons in some place that isn't New York, he thinks most likely L.A. Most of his dreams took place in a gorgeous hotel where this vampire and his minions took sanctuary in. He knows their faces, better than people he see's on a normal basis now. There of course was the vampire, but there was also the tough looking black man, the weird green faced guy who wears flashy clothes, a very skinny but lovely looking girl, and a british man who sometimes wore glasses. And there was someone else, someone who really caught his eye, beautiful young woman, there's something about this woman that he just can't put his finger on. But most of his dreams are about the vampire, the dark mysterious vampire who haunts his dreams every night.  
  
Connor figures since he can't get any sleep tonight, he might as well go out patrolling. As he puts his clothes on he wonders what any of this has to do with him? Sure he helps his wife Dawn and her student fight evil, but that doesn't explain why he has those dreams. But there is the super strength and instincts that he has pretty much remembered having since he was eighteen, he has always wondered where that came from. Is he some sort of male slayer? No probably not. He puts his black trench coat on and thinks about that man/vampire in his dreams. There's something more to him, and the beautiful woman for that matter, but he feels some sort of bond toward the vampire. That bond is the same thing that is telling him that this vampire has long since died. So why is he haunted by dreams of him.  
  
He grabs his stakes and places them in the sleeve of his coat, then he opens up the closet of the two bedroom apartment and pulls out a mini crossbow and places it on his belt buckle. He tries to get these silly dreams out his head as he opens the door to his hallway. What he mostly tries to focus is on is the kill, when he goes out there, he goes out there to hunt. But as he opens the front door, he realizes that he will not be able to get away from these dreams. He looks at the man who seems like he has been standing in his doorway for a while now. The man has a very innocent face and is wearing a goofy derby ontop of his head and Connor can smell that he is a demon.  
  
The man smiles at Connor. "Hi Connor, the names Whistler and I'm here to give you a push in the right direction."  
  
Dawn was surprised at how many Watchers and Slayers could fit into the Council's conference room, bout seventy in all had to cram into the room with a long table in the middle. And for the first time ever, Alaxander Lavelle Harris is at the forefront. Dawn only recognized half of the people there, she is surprised that the council was able to get rid of most of the older males who lived through the blast that took out the original council twenty years back. Now it just seems like the council is built up of people who are forty five or younger, which is a good thing. She is also surprised to see that a lot of the watchers are women like her. They are not the council of the old male dominance. And all of it goes to the man who took over the council twenty years ago, Giles really did change things for the better.  
  
The conference went pretty much the way Andrew said it would, it was pretty much Alax taking the role of leadership and then went talking about the whole L.A situation. He didn't shine any new info on the situation, pretty much just stressing how extreme measures are with it. He mostly stood up as he did his exposition, behind him, the slayer general Kennedy is in a corner shining HER Scythe. Alax gives her the floor to explain exactly what went down in L.A and it was basically her and her group of slayers and watchers going in and slaughtered by vamps right away. She said she couldn't find any information on what led to the takeover. So really nothing new, accept more death. Alax then gave the floor to Andrew who pulled out a big board and grabbed a pointer showing all the main activity of vampires over the world. And of course the highest activity was in Los Angelos. Apparently, it has now become a safe haven for vamps to feed off the dead and create their own society.  
  
"Okay, now some of you may see this as a good thing," Alax began his finishing up speech. "All vampires and demons in one place keeps them away from everyone else, right?" He looks around at everyone who stays pretty much silent the whole time. "Wrong. Believe me, they will try to migrate. Sure, right now they might have a whole lot of people to feed off of, but with their numbers growing they are going to run out of food very quickly. So if we are going to do something, we better do it fast. I know it seems impossible, seeing the army and the intiative were taken out. But our organization has been around much longer, and now thanks to Mr. Giles, we are much stronger than before. Now you are all to stay here in London until we come up with a battle plan." At that moment Dawn hears Reese groan right beside her, Alax continues. "With that our meeting is closed until further notice."  
  
Once Alax has finished, most of the young girls rush out of the conference room due to boredom. Reese looks at Dawn and she knods to tell her that she can leave as well. Reese runs out the double doors with the rest of the slayers. The Watchers talk amongst themselves for a few minutes, then most of them walk out the door. Dawn talks to VI and Andrew with Kennedy staying in her corner being very quiet, she has become quite the silent war bird over the last couple of years. Dawn, VI and Andrew are on their way out of the room when Alax who has been going through paperwork (something he hates doing) stops them. "Hey guys," the three of them stop and look at him. " Can you guys follow me to my offices," He looks back at Kennedy. "You too."  
  
Seeing that they can't say no to him, he is their boss now, the four follow him down the hallway. Kennedy is the first one to question Alax. "So what's this all about? I thought we we're here for the Watchers meeting."  
  
Alax stops before he gets to the door of his private office. "And that you were. But you are also here for a different kind of meeting."  
  
Dawn thinks she knows where he is going when he says that, but apparently it went over the others heads. "What kind of meeting are you talking about?" VI asks as Alax opens the door to his office.  
  
He grins the door opens and they see who has been waiting for them inside. "A Scooby Gang meeting." And there stands the sister who had abandoned her all those years ago in the middle of Alax Harris's office. Buffy gives Dawn a reluctant smile as all four of them stand in shock over the returning Buffy Summers. Well at least the three girls are shocked at Buffy. Andrew was shocked at something else.  
  
"Wait, I'm a member of the Scooby Gang?" Andrew asks with excitement.  
  
VI gives Andrew a shove telling him to stay quiet as Dawn and Buffy just stare at each other with contempt. It seems like days go by as she stares into the blue eyes of her sister, so much anger grows inside her as the time goes further and further. She thinks about the day she left, she looks back the weddings the funerals, the battles that she has missed. The times that she needed her, she wasn't there. But now here she is like nothing has changed a bit and Dawn bets that she won't even apologize for all those missed moments. Buffy opens her arms for a hug as Dawn walks up getting ready to slap her in the face. The open arms for a hug soon turns to Buffy bringing up her right arm to block the slap. Right as Dawn is about to deck her sister and Buffy is ready to block it they both stop and look at each others eyes once more. It is at that exact moment that Dawn bursts into to tears and falls to the floor, something she's been doing a lot of since Giles passing. She spends not half a second as she looks up and Buffy is kneeling right next to her also in tears. Dawn leans her head to Buffy's shoulder and they both embrace in tears of joy and loss. But still the words ring through her head.  
  
"Buffy still won't choose you. She will be against you."  
  
But then Dawn thinks to herself, at least she is here today, she is with me right now.  
  
Twenty Years Later Part 3: Buffy Won't Choose You  
  
Those words have been ringing through her ears for the last twenty years of her life, it was a warning that her mom gave her from the afterlife. At first she didn't know if that was prophecy that would come true, everyone just assumed that it was The First playing with her mind, and it very well could've been. But still five years later, that prophecy came true. Her sister, the one who she would protect her, abandoned her for a life of self solitude. Of course the warning wasn't wasn't as life or death as she though it would be at the time, but still it happened. She had to make all the tough decisions on her own from then on, even Giles couldn't save her from leading two slayers to death and darkness. Maybe if her sister Buffy would've been around, she probably could've avoided those disasters. Then Dawn Summers she realized that she has zoned out again into her own thoughts.  
  
"So how long is this going to take?" Her charge, Reese, asks very impatiently in the lobby of The Watcher's council.  
  
"I don't know Reese, from what Alax told me, this is a meeting that involves both slayers and watchers, you can't try to get out of it this time." Dawn has been pretty grim these couple of days just due to the loss of Rupert. She knows that Reese is trying her hardest to understand that this is a very hard loss for her, but she is still a teenaged girl and doesn't really look farther beyond that. "Don't worry, this trip will be over soon"  
  
"Let's hope, I can't wait to get back to New York, to kick some vampire ass. Plus, the english stench is already getting to me."  
  
"Don't be rude, they payed for the hotel and the food."  
  
"But still they didn't pay for my shopping spree, there is something completely wrong with that" Dawn gives her smile, something she hasn't done for the last couple of days. Reese than changes the subject on her, asking her something that she wouldn't expect from her young slayer. "So what was Mr. Giles really like, I mean I actually never met him. But from the funeral he apparently was a great man, or at least the way Alax was talking about him and that weird white haired lady."  
  
Dawn is a little shocked by this question, but she figures that she needs to answer, pass on the legacy. "First of all, that weird white haired ladies name is Willow. Now Giles, he was a great man.."  
  
"I'm getting that, but what was he like?" As usual, Reese is being very impatient.  
  
"Well, firstly, he was very, well, um english. He used big words and was very compassionate and he had a great voice."  
  
Reese gives Dawn an unimpressed look. "That's it? That's all you can say about the guy who brought you up?"  
  
Dawn wishes she could say more, but her mind is off in a dozen other places right now. She is still mourning the loss of her sisters ex watcher, but now she thinks more and more about Buffy. She wonders if Buffy just stopped caring about everything years back, why wasn't she at the funeral. She has left many times before, but she always came back, but now fifteen years later, she can't come back just for a few minutes for something like this? And she didn't even show up for her wedding, that's not the Buffy Summers she remembers. She notices her mind wander off again and she turns back to Reese. "Sometimes, there are people who are so great that it is hard to get their essence into a sentence or paragraph. Plus, I'm not trying to think about him as gone, I had to do a lot of that growing up."  
  
Reese takes a moment to think over what Dawn says and then says the last thing that Dawn wants to hear. " Oh yeah, because your sister sacrificed herself for you, right?" Dawn looks down in more remorse for her lost sister, as it looks like Reese is thinking hard about something. "Wait, if your sister died saving you and the world, how did she lead the potential slayers to defeat The First two years later? Where is she now?"  
  
Dawn looks deeply, giving her an 'I don't want to continue this conversation' look, "I don't know." Reese gets the hint and backs off of her watcher. As they reach the main offices Dawn notices a figure she recognizes very well. Well of course she recognizes him, he was the guy that they kept hostage at their house for a few months, how could she not forget that face and the wormy posture. But of course every time she sees him, she can't help but smile at his nerdy charm. She wonders if this was how Buffy saw Alax or Xander in the High School days that she's heard so much about. Reese on the other hand has met Andrew a few times before, and everytime he opens his mouth around her, she tries not to laugh at his dorkyness. Dawn thinks he looks kind of funny in his suit and tie, just because she remembers when he was hardcore trekkie. As oppose to Xander, he still has his hair, but it has turned into a weird pale blonde color, he also has attempted to grow a goatee to either look younger or to look like the evil alternate dimension version of Captain Kirk, she can't tell which. Over the last couple of years he has become a book keeper of sorts for the Watchers Council, something he is quite good at.  
  
"Mrs. Summers, Reese" He gives them a wild grin while stroking his chin hair, always the fidgety one. "You two have arrived right on time, Alax is just about to get started. May I take your coat?"  
  
Dawn gives Andrew a very warm look, while Reese just rolls her eyes. "Good to see you too Andrew. What exactly is this meeting all about and once again, you're the book keeper not the councils butler"  
  
Andrew goes aback like he had just been insulted, he's just a bit sensitive, but still he answers her question. "Well apparently the meeting is just Mr. Harris taking his spot as head of the Watcher's Council and what he plans to do about L.A."  
  
"Will it be long?" Reese bursts out loud. If it were to one of the more uptight older members of the council, she would have scolded her slayer, but Andrew was probably was wondering the same thing.  
  
"I hope not, Sci fi channel is playing a 'Quantum Leap' marathon."  
  
"What is that?" Reese asks, and to be honest, Dawn has never heard of that show either. But it kind of goes to show that Andrew is still the same old nerd he always has been, maybe a little more mature, but still a fanboy at heart.  
  
Andrew again looks offended. "You never heard of 'Quantum Leap'? Scott Bakula?"  
  
"Who's Scott Bakula?" Reese just asks that last question to get under his skin, although she had no clue who he was anyways.  
  
Andrew looks at Dawn with a very upset look. "What are you teaching this girl? The first thing a good slayer should know is good television."  
  
Dawn shrugs. "Sorry, I grew up watching 'Charmed'."  
  
Now it's Andrew's turn to roll his old eyes. "Witches, Demons, who growing up in our era watched that stuff anyways?" Before he can continue his rant a slim hand goes over his mouth. Dawn begins to glow as VI stands there holding Andrew back with smirk on her face. Dawn really likes VI, of all the slayers that she had to bunk with during The First war, she liked her the most. And although, they have recently learned that slayers age very well when it comes to their looks, at least with the proof of Faith and Kennedy's old age, she is sure the youngest looking one and she is a good thirty eight years old. She doesn't look a day over twenty one, despite her red hair growing down to her back, she looks almost the same.  
  
"Sorry, I like the guy," She begins with a sweet smile and letting go of his mouth. "But when you get him going on millenium sci fi shows, he doesn't seem to be able to shut himself up."  
  
"Ouch, remember you have slayer strength." Andrew says grabbing at his jaw, then strokes his chin hair once more.  
  
"Hey VI" Dawn says giving her a hug. "How is the slaying going?"  
  
"Same as usual, but I think I'm about ready to retire now. I've been doing this since I was what? Fifteen? Time to trade in my stake for a comfy bed. But how are you doing? How's your husband?"  
  
Then her mind goes somewhere, she thinks about her husband, someone who has been worrying her for a couple of months now. He seemed in bad shape when they left New York, been having very strange nightmares. Whenever she would ask him if she could do anything, he would just tell her to leave him alone. For the first time ever in their relationship, he is rejecting her love. He has become very brooding as of late actually, kind of reminds her of a guy that her sister used to date. But she decides to lie to VI about her husband. "Oh, Connors doing very good."  
  
He wakes up in a deep sweat for the third time this week, the same dream again. Makes it not having Dawn around or maybe it's that he has being feeling useless in the world as of late. But his dreams are so weird, they have nothing to do with any of that. But it also seems like they have nothing do with him either, it's about some other guy, well a vampire really. He remembers seeing this man/vampire fighting demons in some place that isn't New York, he thinks most likely L.A. Most of his dreams took place in a gorgeous hotel where this vampire and his minions took sanctuary in. He knows their faces, better than people he see's on a normal basis now. There of course was the vampire, but there was also the tough looking black man, the weird green faced guy who wears flashy clothes, a very skinny but lovely looking girl, and a british man who sometimes wore glasses. And there was someone else, someone who really caught his eye, beautiful young woman, there's something about this woman that he just can't put his finger on. But most of his dreams are about the vampire, the dark mysterious vampire who haunts his dreams every night.  
  
Connor figures since he can't get any sleep tonight, he might as well go out patrolling. As he puts his clothes on he wonders what any of this has to do with him? Sure he helps his wife Dawn and her student fight evil, but that doesn't explain why he has those dreams. But there is the super strength and instincts that he has pretty much remembered having since he was eighteen, he has always wondered where that came from. Is he some sort of male slayer? No probably not. He puts his black trench coat on and thinks about that man/vampire in his dreams. There's something more to him, and the beautiful woman for that matter, but he feels some sort of bond toward the vampire. That bond is the same thing that is telling him that this vampire has long since died. So why is he haunted by dreams of him.  
  
He grabs his stakes and places them in the sleeve of his coat, then he opens up the closet of the two bedroom apartment and pulls out a mini crossbow and places it on his belt buckle. He tries to get these silly dreams out his head as he opens the door to his hallway. What he mostly tries to focus is on is the kill, when he goes out there, he goes out there to hunt. But as he opens the front door, he realizes that he will not be able to get away from these dreams. He looks at the man who seems like he has been standing in his doorway for a while now. The man has a very innocent face and is wearing a goofy derby ontop of his head and Connor can smell that he is a demon.  
  
The man smiles at Connor. "Hi Connor, the names Whistler and I'm here to give you a push in the right direction."  
  
Dawn was surprised at how many Watchers and Slayers could fit into the Council's conference room, bout seventy in all had to cram into the room with a long table in the middle. And for the first time ever, Alaxander Lavelle Harris is at the forefront. Dawn only recognized half of the people there, she is surprised that the council was able to get rid of most of the older males who lived through the blast that took out the original council twenty years back. Now it just seems like the council is built up of people who are forty five or younger, which is a good thing. She is also surprised to see that a lot of the watchers are women like her. They are not the council of the old male dominance. And all of it goes to the man who took over the council twenty years ago, Giles really did change things for the better.  
  
The conference went pretty much the way Andrew said it would, it was pretty much Alax taking the role of leadership and then went talking about the whole L.A situation. He didn't shine any new info on the situation, pretty much just stressing how extreme measures are with it. He mostly stood up as he did his exposition, behind him, the slayer general Kennedy is in a corner shining HER Scythe. Alax gives her the floor to explain exactly what went down in L.A and it was basically her and her group of slayers and watchers going in and slaughtered by vamps right away. She said she couldn't find any information on what led to the takeover. So really nothing new, accept more death. Alax then gave the floor to Andrew who pulled out a big board and grabbed a pointer showing all the main activity of vampires over the world. And of course the highest activity was in Los Angelos. Apparently, it has now become a safe haven for vamps to feed off the dead and create their own society.  
  
"Okay, now some of you may see this as a good thing," Alax began his finishing up speech. "All vampires and demons in one place keeps them away from everyone else, right?" He looks around at everyone who stays pretty much silent the whole time. "Wrong. Believe me, they will try to migrate. Sure, right now they might have a whole lot of people to feed off of, but with their numbers growing they are going to run out of food very quickly. So if we are going to do something, we better do it fast. I know it seems impossible, seeing the army and the intiative were taken out. But our organization has been around much longer, and now thanks to Mr. Giles, we are much stronger than before. Now you are all to stay here in London until we come up with a battle plan." At that moment Dawn hears Reese groan right beside her, Alax continues. "With that our meeting is closed until further notice."  
  
Once Alax has finished, most of the young girls rush out of the conference room due to boredom. Reese looks at Dawn and she knods to tell her that she can leave as well. Reese runs out the double doors with the rest of the slayers. The Watchers talk amongst themselves for a few minutes, then most of them walk out the door. Dawn talks to VI and Andrew with Kennedy staying in her corner being very quiet, she has become quite the silent war bird over the last couple of years. Dawn, VI and Andrew are on their way out of the room when Alax who has been going through paperwork (something he hates doing) stops them. "Hey guys," the three of them stop and look at him. " Can you guys follow me to my offices," He looks back at Kennedy. "You too."  
  
Seeing that they can't say no to him, he is their boss now, the four follow him down the hallway. Kennedy is the first one to question Alax. "So what's this all about? I thought we we're here for the Watchers meeting."  
  
Alax stops before he gets to the door of his private office. "And that you were. But you are also here for a different kind of meeting."  
  
Dawn thinks she knows where he is going when he says that, but apparently it went over the others heads. "What kind of meeting are you talking about?" VI asks as Alax opens the door to his office.  
  
He grins the door opens and they see who has been waiting for them inside. "A Scooby Gang meeting." And there stands the sister who had abandoned her all those years ago in the middle of Alax Harris's office. Buffy gives Dawn a reluctant smile as all four of them stand in shock over the returning Buffy Summers. Well at least the three girls are shocked at Buffy. Andrew was shocked at something else.  
  
"Wait, I'm a member of the Scooby Gang?" Andrew asks with excitement.  
  
VI gives Andrew a shove telling him to stay quiet as Dawn and Buffy just stare at each other with contempt. It seems like days go by as she stares into the blue eyes of her sister, so much anger grows inside her as the time goes further and further. She thinks about the day she left, she looks back the weddings the funerals, the battles that she has missed. The times that she needed her, she wasn't there. But now here she is like nothing has changed a bit and Dawn bets that she won't even apologize for all those missed moments. Buffy opens her arms for a hug as Dawn walks up getting ready to slap her in the face. The open arms for a hug soon turns to Buffy bringing up her right arm to block the slap. Right as Dawn is about to deck her sister and Buffy is ready to block it they both stop and look at each others eyes once more. It is at that exact moment that Dawn bursts into to tears and falls to the floor, something she's been doing a lot of since Giles passing. She spends not half a second as she looks up and Buffy is kneeling right next to her also in tears. Dawn leans her head to Buffy's shoulder and they both embrace in tears of joy and loss. But still the words ring through her head.  
  
"Buffy still won't choose you. She will be against you."  
  
But then Dawn thinks to herself, at least she is here today, she is with me right now. 


End file.
